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Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Ipad apps, Grid Lines.

I love iPads and have been using them in my classroom for quite a while. I serve on the committee that chooses apps to load on the iPads. When I come across good apps, I cannot wait to try them. One of my favorites is a math game called Five Dice. It is from MathFileFolderGames.com. It is an order of operations game that is available from iTunes. It can be played with one or two players. My students prefer the two player mode using bluetooth to play against each other. They race to see who can use the numbered dice and symbols (+, - , X,...) first.

MathFileFolderGames.com has just developed a new app called Grid Lines. I learned about this app from being a follower to their site. They offered the opportunity to try their app before it went live. The only catch, was to review it on my blog. No problem!

Like Five Dice, students can play Grid Lines in single player mode, or two player mode using bluetooth. The object of the ordered pairs game is to score the highest number of points by drawing a line that passes through or touches shapes located on the coordinate grid. Positive and negative numbers use the four quadrants on the coordinate grid. Four number tiles are given by the app to make two sets of coordinates. This game is like Battleship, only you are using shapes, not ships.

The game can be adjusted by choosing 2 shapes, and progressing to many shapes. It is ideal for upper elementary math classrooms, and middle school.

I first tried Grid Lines with two students in single player mode. We then tried the bluetooth capabilities with the two person mode. It was simple. Both students opened the game and signed in. Then they chose the two person mode. In a matter of moments, a pop-up screen told them it was looking for a player near by. The next screens explained to choose the device that they were to compete against. The connection was quick. The students were playing in about a minute.

This game was great to review ordered pairs and the four quadrants. My students are very competitive in games. They liked being able to adjust the game to their skill level. With my inclusion class, this game made it easy to adjust. Most students chose to play the 1-4 shapes, but two loved the challenge of 1-8 shapes.

It took a couple of students a few tries to understand the concept of locating points so the line connecting them would go through each shape when possible. They were frustrated by the lack of negative numbers at times, and with the negative numbers at other times. Then they realized the point didn't have to touch the shape, just the line had to touch.

They loved that they could keep track of wins and losses, and that they could email me the results. They want a winner's board in the classroom to show their results.

If you teach math in the upper elementary grades, you will want to check out MathFileFolderGames.com for these and other math game apps like Four Dice Fractions game and Ordered Fractions game. These apps will make a great addition to a math center. At $1.99 per app, they are worth it.